The article “Flowing against the traditional stream: consciousness in Tillie Olsen's 'Tell Me a Riddle'” by Lydia A. Schultz discusses the relationship of Eva and her husband in “Tell Me a Riddle” and how that book relates to the patriarchal society of the United States which affects many aspects of life. Lydia first explains that many critics see “Tell Me a Riddle” as a feminist piece of literature and that she believes that reading is too narrow. She believes that Olsen is trying to show that the patriarchy in America impacts the marriage of everyone including working class people and immigrants.
Shultz explains that Olsen writes about working as a mother but does not regret it, even though Olsen was a communist sympathizer and active in…show more content… Their gender roles shaped their lives, so they had different needs; Eva wanted to live in her house and her husband wanted to move to the Haven an old age home. Eva wished to remain in the house because when her children lived at home, it was constantly messy, but now she wants to enjoy that when she cleans it, it remains clean. She also does not want to hold her grandchildren so as not to be brought back to that stage of motherhood in which she felt that she had to leave her identity behind. David on the other hand, wants to move to the Haven so that he does not have to worry about money any longer. Throughout his fatherhood, he was the breadwinner of the house and was constantly running around to make money. He was so busy making money that he did not have enough time with the kids, so now he loves to play around with the grandchildren. While Eva wants to unwind and enjoy the quiet now that her she is not burdened by the kids, her husband wants to be social after he was busy trying to make money to feed his children. Shultz argues that the reason they constantly fight is because they have different needs that were shaped through the patriarchy of the American
